welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories that we are following for you. >> to do a lot of pointing blame, fixing the blame. what i want to do is fix the problem. >> and so do i. >> the health and human secretary, kathleen sebelius questioned. more efforts to get bashar al-assad back to the peace talks in geneva. and freedom for four french hostages, who return home after four years in captivity.

non-stop for the past two hours, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius answering tough questions on capitol hill. she is explaining the problems with the troubled affordable care website. >> so let me say directly to these americans. you deserve better. i apologize. i am accountable to you for fixing these problems, and i am committed to earning your confidence back by fixing the site. >> randall pinkston is live on capitol hill. randall, see beal us has apologized but has she said how they are going to fix the problem? >> republicans especially are pressing sebelius on the

website, and they didn't support the act in the first place, and they are pointing out the fact that president obama promised people that they could keep the insurance that they had if they wanted to, but many americans are reporting that that is not happening. here is an example of the exchange. >> what do you say to mark and lucinda in my district who had a plan, liked it, it was affordable, but it is being terminated. >> insurance companies cancel individual policies year in and year out. they are not lifetime plans. >> let me move on -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> it's what they wanted, and i will remind you, some people like to drive a ford not a ferrari, you are take away their choice. >> well, dell that was just a sample of what secretary sebelius has been experiencing all through the morning and into the afternoon and more to come.

>> and randall with 41 votes to do away with what republicans are calling obamacare, i don't think she was expecting a warm welcoming. what are the democrats saying? >> well, at least a few have asked her to modify the plan. one asked to extend the sign-on period. and she said four months would be enough. and another one, a democrat from georgia pointed out that he voted against the affordable care act in the first place, and he is also asking the secretary to do something republicans wanted to do, which is to delay the mandate for at least a year. but most of the democrats are trying to point out how the plan is working, and pointing to what they say is hypocrisy on the part of republicans. here is representative engel

from new york. >> it is the law, and i find it disconcerting that my republican colleagues have done nothing but root for this to fail, and now there is this big show that they are upset from keeping people from signing up fast up. the website will be fixed and millions of americans will be able to get coverage. >> and secretary sebelius is saying that the repair work, the fixes that are being done now will be finished by the end of november. dell? >> randall pinkston thank you very much. randall reporting from capitol hill. as the new healthcare law rolls out slurers are mailing out millions of letters to customers who buy their own coverage. the message they are receiving

is their old policy is no longer viable under the affordable care act. >> reporter: greg flynn and his wife anita got an unpleasant surprise from their insurance company this september. their health premiums are currently doubling. they currently pay $629. but in a letter the insurance company said they are ending its policy and offering a new one that meets the new criteria. the price tag, $1,015. greg an architect said he expected an increase under the new law but not nearly that much. >> sort of out of the blue after all of this waiting to get a letter saying your premium is going to almost double was a shock. >> reporter: one reason for the shock? the message coming out of the

white house. >> if you like your health care plan, you will be able to peep your health care plan, period. >> reporter: while the vast majority of people are covered through work, roughly 15 million americans are like greg and anita and purchase health insurance on their own. an estimated 85% of those policies are not compatible with the new health care law. so insurers are mailing out millions of letter informing the customers they policy is being changed or discontinued. there is some new standards to your policy, whether you buy them here in north carolina or really anywhere else across the country, and that may cause your premiums to go up if you buy insurance on your own. a blue cross spokesman would not comment on greg's case but noted that the plans are generally required to offer more coverage.

>> if you are in the individual market and you are above 400% of poverty and your premiums are going up, your premiums are going up. >> reporter: the overall price is expected to be much lower, increasing between 10 and 13%. and many won't qualify for subsidy. but for those like greg, anita, and millions of others who earn too much to get government assistance, the new health law means less money in their pockets. >> we're going to shop around and look for a different plan, and i think we can get less than $1,100. but it is still going to be more. >> david ariosto, al jazeera, boone, north carolina. president obama is scheduled to appear in boston today to promote his health care plan. he'll be speaking at the place

where mitt romney signed the health care law into law. the affordable care act is modeled on the plan in massachusetts. 97% of residents there have health insurance. millions of social security recipients are going to receive slightly larger checks next year. the annual cost of living adjustment will rise by 1.5%. that is the smallest increase since the 1970s. the un arab league envoy lakhdar brahimi met with bashar al-assad trying to persuade the current are and an increasingly divided opposition to come to the negotiating table. imran khan has more on the evacuation.

>> reporter: this is a rare moment of relief and cooperation between regime forces, rebel groups, and aid workers. some 1800 syrians have been trapped in the area of moadamiyeh. officials say the civilance were taken to temporary shelters. one of the women involved in the ceasefire negotiations said all of the parties cooperated well. >> we received a call from inside moadamiyeh from inhabitants as well as outside that they would prefer to go out because it's not only a matter of eating, but also it's a matter, you know, of security. so we began to negotiate on this basis, and good thing in this initiative is that everybody is a partner. >> reporter: the government's eager to show that it fully cooperated and helped facilitate

the withdraw. >> the people now leaving are the last people leaving after the agreement between national security, social affairs and the.com -- .com mass cuss neighborhood. >> reporter: for president assad the evacuation could allow for them to take tactical control of the area. >> the government coming here is like medicine to us. thanks for that. god help you. and thanks to the syrian army and may god protect them. >> reporter: but this is an isolated case. syrian regime forces have one very clear tactic throughout the country when it comes to rebel-held neighborhoods. they blockade them while keeping food and supplies out.

so much of this war is now concentrated around these check points and these blockades. imran khan, al jazeera. five people have now been arrested in what has been called a suicide bomb attack out of beijing square. knives, gasoline and other items were found inside. the suspects are expected to be part of the muslim group which has been battling with chinese security forces for years. at least 40 people are dead in india after a bus crashed and burst into flames. is another example of the dangerous driving conditions all around india. >> the driver himself has told police that he was trying to overtake another vehicle in the early hours, when he hit an

obstruction which hit the fuel tank and caused the bus to burst into flames. one of the media outlets is reporting that the bus had an automatic locking system which may have trapped in several passengers. one of the reasons we keep having all of these bus crashes in india is because of the lack of knowledge of safety standards and the poor infrastructure in the country. many of these happen in the rural areas, so when the crashes do happen they are far away to get help, and the road conditions themselves are full of potholes, and obstructions. india, by the way has the deadliest roads in the world. more than 110,000 people killed every year across that country. investigators in south carolina now investigating the shooting deaths of six people there calling them a murder,

suicide. the s.w.a.t. team found two children among the dead tuesday night along with the suspected gunmen. the victim's ranging in age from 9 years of age into their early 50s. four frenchmen held in niger for more than three years are now back in france. tim has more. >> reporter: relief and overwhelming emotion, back on french soil after three years of uncertainty and the constant threat of being killed. on the tarmac, hugs and kisses from family, and a welcome from the president. >> translator: it's an immense joy for the men to come back to their families, country, and to

come back to a free life. i want to salute their courage. three years of an ordeal of waiting, of suffering. >> reporter: the men will be given a checkup in hospital and then tell what they know to intelligence officers before returning home. reports are emerging that random of up to $34 million was paid for the men's release, although that has been denied by the company, ariva and the government. earlier the men arrived in the capitol after being freed in northern moli. >> translator: this freedom was accomplished in collaboration with the president. the kidnapping as you know happened three years ago, and since then all means have been used to try to free them. i would like to congratulate the team to whom i gave this mission. i congratulate the hostages for having regained their freedom. >> reporter: the hostages

describe their experience as a nightmare. at one point during their captivity, they were filmed at gunpoint. their captors accused france of stealing the region's uranium and demanded french troops leave afghanistan, but their primary demand was money. the hostages may owe their lives to the rebels reported success in securing a ransom. still ahead, the battle to fit in in europe, how the roma people there are fighting to bring an end to segregation and isolation in italy. uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? >> they share it on the stream. >> social media isn't an after-thought, it drives discussion across america. >> al jazeera america's social media community, on tv and online. >> this is your outlet for those conversations. >> post, upload and interact.

>> every night share undiscovered stories.

all next week america tonight investigates the campus rape crisis. >> serial rape is the norm on college campuses. >> i know that when i did report, i was blamed. >> then this friday at nine eastern, we open up the conversation in a live town-hall event. sex crimes on campus, a special week of coverage and live town-hall on america tonight nine eastern. only on al jazeera america. three former staff members of the establish tabloid news of the world pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack phones. hacking phones, the case that

former editors facing charges, they stem from revelations the murdoch tabloid eavesdropped on their voicemails. edward snowden could earn a ticket out of russia if we agrees to testify about the u.s. and its spying. german lawmakers are investigating reports that the u.s. tapped angela merkel's cell phone, and they said they would grant snowden asylum if he would be their star witness. the case of a little girl named maria living in a greek roman community, has thrust the roma people back into the spot light. claudio lavanga has the story. >> reporter: miriana halilovic likes to welcome guests with coffee, but she is forced to serve it outdoors.

inside the trailer she calls home there is barely space for her new-born twins. she hopes to be relocated to a social public housing are quickly fading away. >> reporter: they say i'm roma is for italian. but i'm an italian citizen too. i have a right to a decent home. >> reporter: she is one of more than 4,000 members of the roma community who live in overcrowded camps infested by rats. bouts of hepatitis a and other diseases, the air is filled with the smell of burning rubbish. this camp was built to house 600 people, but now twice as many live here in very poor conditions. for most this is now home.

a report by amnesty international, says that in italy there is a housing system which discriminates against roma people. >> italy has been condemned several times by most human rights, the council of europe, the un, and it keeps doing it. i think there has been no political will to address the demands of roma. >> reporter: the city councillor in rome says she wants to end segregation through integration. >> translator: we need to learn to live together. they want stability. >> reporter: while miriana and her family wait for better conditions, this community will have to keep calling this camp

their home. claudio lavanga, al jazeera, rome. ♪ well checking the big board, wall street clearly in a holding pattern ahead of the federal reserves announcements later today. stocks are pulling back, down 18 points at this hour. investigators are waiting to hear what the fed has to say about the future of its easy money policy. twitter seems to be winning over some big time investors. executives on a proportional tour for its ipo. one manager says they like what they are doing. they expect shares to climb after they begin trading on november 7th. and facebook is on wall street's radar today. it's quarterly financial report coming out.

the last time it came out with earnings, the stock took off. analysts are going to be looking at the company's advertising revenue, especially on its mobile devices. a nature preserve about to be marred by oil-drilling rigs. we'll tell you about a unique effort to preserve a pristine part of the amazon and why it failed.

♪ lawmakers still posing questions to health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius about the problems with the health care.gov website. he is promises the website will be fully functionable by the end of november. millions of social security recipients are going to receive slightly larger checks next year. the cost of living will go up

1.5%. and lakhdar brahimi meeting with bashar al-assad today. he is trying to get assad and the rebels to the up coming peace talked scheduled for geneva. ecuador is abandoning a unique anti-drilling plan. the fund-raising efforts there fell short. monica villamizar has more. >> reporter: there's a saying among tribes of the amazon, the jungle will save us all. but this area sits over a large deposit of oil. >> translator: for us the amazon is our supermarket.

this lagoon is where we find our food, we find all of our medicine here. now with the pollution all is gone. >> reporter: he is referring to the pollution caused by drilling in the outskirts of the reserve. all large animals are gone, he says. exdoer's president said texaco caused serious damage in the amazon. his answer for the world to pay ecuador, $350 million a year to leave the area untouched. but his plan failed. the government now permits briling in the base in. it's for the greater good this government ad says. the media compares drilling to the short-lived pain a baby receives when getting a vaccine as compared to the long term

benefits. it brings contractors, roads, heavy traffic, and this is somehow already happening here. a zone that has tropical rain forests and where heavy drilling has been going on for the past decades. the marches to the capitol have already started. communities from the amazon trekked for five days to demand an audience. >> we don't want oil companies. you will harm us, leave us alone. >> reporter: many want a referendum on oil drilling. >> translator: as a woman i want to defend our territory for the future of our children so they can continue to live in harmony with the jungle. >> reporter: the movement has played a role in toppling three presidents in the last decade. now they have a warning for this

president. let oil companies into the jungle, and he will pay a heavy price, and so will the planet. we were looking at that skyline of new york dave warren looks like some clouds out there. >> yeah, the clouds are moving in. and that will be the warm air coming into new york city. here is what we have right now outside. looks cloudy, and the temperatures are climbing on the east coast, but falling on the west coast, and in the middle is where you have these storms. warm air to the right, cold air to the left. and there is a severe storm moving through the midwest. it has hail and wind gusts close to 60 miles an hour. so that's what we're dealing with in the middle part of the country. to the west there is cold air, and east there is light rain but clouds. now this area of storms will continue to push east so the

warm air moves into new england, and gets even colder once the air moves out. there is this front that will move through. this is by thursday. so during the day thursday, the warm air moves up through philadelphia, pennsylvania, and new york, and here is the rain moving through the midwest, holding off on the east coast until thursday night and friday. through chicago wednesday, thursday, clearing out on friday, in new york thursday and friday with the rain, then saturday and sunday rain a little cooler with a breeze. dave thank you very much. finally get out your awe shucks. pope francis made a new friend. this little boy wanted to get a closer look so he sat in the pope's chair. and no he wouldn't move. when they tried to get him off of the stage, the little boy rapped his arms around the

pontiff's leg. and the pope continued his speech. not bad. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters. "the stream" is next. you are in the stream. it's designed to help, but many say foster care needs an overhaul. the real lives of foster parents, foster children and the system that may be failing. could you take in a child and offer care at one of the most vulnerable points in their lives? >> well, we got interested in foster care kind of by accident way back in probably 15 years ago. there was a girl, a local girl stay.